Pick-up trucks are most often used as utility vehicles, however, they are also used as recreational vehicles. Most of these pick-up trucks are designed to carry only two or three passengers. Therefore, if more persons are to be carried, they must be carried within the pick-up truck bed. The danger to passengers riding in a truck bed is well known. Even when sitting on the floor, a passenger can be easily thrown from the truck bed when the truck is turning or comes to a fast stop.
Current motor vehicle safety standards and regulations in many states, require that vehicle seats attached to truck beds include seat belt systems and be adequately secured to the truck structure. The requirement to have the seats secured is a prudent safeguard because when there is a vehicle impact, extreme loads are transferred from the seat belts to the seat structure. Further, the seat may be further subjected to stressful loads due to occupants or objects striking the seat. Additionally, some states have enacted laws that require animals riding in the truck bed to be harnessed and tethered. The instant invention also provides for this animal safety requirement.
Most current models of pick-up trucks generally do not include provisions to have a seat attached to the floor of a truck bed. However, the prior art does disclose patents that allow such a seat to be attached as described below. For the most part, the prior art designs are relatively complex and do not provide the structural integrity or ease of removal that is inherent in the instant invention. Additionally, none of the prior art patents disclose a seat assembly that includes a seat belt assembly to which an animal safety harness and tether can be attached.
The search of literature and prior art patents did not disclose any truck bed seats that read directly on the combination claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 5,139,301 Lewis 18 August l992 5,029,928 Huber 9 July 1991 4,971,379 Rampel, et al 20 November 1990 ______________________________________
The 5,139,301 Lewis patent discloses a portable truck bed seat that is designed to be attached to the bed of a pickup truck. The seat includes short legs and body-supporting cushions attached to a frame structure. The frame structure has adjustable clamps that are movably attached to the edges or lips of the truck beds. These clamps function to effectively lock the seats in position during use.
The 5,029,928 Huber patent discloses a folding, solid polyfoam cushioned or inflatable seat designed to be installed on a pickup truck bed. The seat includes a removable seat belt assembly that may be installed as a separate element or as an integral part of the installed seat. The seat also includes a hinge arrangement that permits the seat to move from an upright position to an inclined position, and also allows installation in a variety of truck bed sizes. The seat has an attaching support which connects to the truck for easy removal and reinstallation.
The 4,971,379 Rampel, et al patent discloses a vehicle seat latch with a take-up mechanism for use in securing a removable bench seat to a vehicle. The bench seat is supported on laterally spaced pedestals which are engageable with support shafts in the floor structure of a vehicle. The rearward end of the pedestals include an elongated U-shaped slot for engagement with the support shaft. The slots are elongated to accommodate variations in the vertical height of the support shafts in the vehicle floor. The latch take-up mechanism includes a take-up hook which is rotatable underneath the support shaft. The hook engages the lower surface of the support shaft to prevent the bench seat from rocking forward during rapid deceleration of the vehicle.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search:
______________________________________ PATENT NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,315,653 Sparling 16 February 1982 4,118,062 Harder, Jr., et al 3 October l978 ______________________________________